Liar, Liar
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Most kids lie to do something dangerous, Emma lies so she can see a Pixar film.


**A fun, cracky Charming Family AU based on a conversation I had with loboselinaistrash about Emma skipping a dance to go see a movie. Daddy Charming feels ensue. Takes place as though Emma broke the curse at 14.**

David was trying to stay calm.

Okay, no, he really wasn't, but if anyone asked he most definitely was.

The curse had broke a year ago and things were starting to fall into place. Emma felt comfortable with them, she called them "Mom" and "Dad" (sometimes even "Daddy" would slip out and it made him feel like he was on Cloud 9). She was doing amazingly in school and occasionally helped out at the diner.

He knew that when his daughter came back into his life that she was a teenager. He had missed out on the baby years, along with the young childhood days of playing with dolls and having tea parties. He was adjusting to that, Snow was too. They knew that no matter what, they wouldn't trade their relationship with Emma for the world.

They were a bit more protective than most parents, he supposed and he was probably worse than Snow. Every sniffle had him worried she was deathly ill and he worried when she was out of their sight. They hadn't been able to go through the trial and error of worrying about a baby. She had come to them as a teenager. There were adjustments there and Emma was patient. She kept a phone on her and answered it when they texted or called. For a girl that never had anyone to care about her, she seemed to flourish in an environment when people actually did.

David had started to relax a bit and loosen the reigns, until Emma announced she had a date to the winter formal. It was no surprise that she'd actually be going, but the fact that she had a date sent him into a tailspin.

"Isn't she a bit young?" He asked Snow after Emma had filled them in on the details. She was going with Gareth Erickson, a kid in her class.

Snow chuckled. "She's 15."

"Still…"

"She's going to be fine, David. I was dating at her age, I'm sure you were as well."

"That's different."

"Why? Because she's your little girl?"

"Well…"

"She's going with Gareth, David. There's nothing you can say or do to change that."

So, David did his best to suck it up and deal with it. The night of the dance, Emma came downstairs wearing a red strapless dress that she had got with Snow, her blonde curls loose. He felt his throat catch as Snow took a million pictures with her polaroid camera.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," he whispered.

Emma smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

"Are you sure you don't need a ride?"

"I'll be fine. I'm meeting Lily and our dates at the diner."

"I feel like I should meet this boy."

"Dad." Emma rolled her eyes. "You've met Gareth before."

"Not when he was taking out my little girl."

"I'm 15, not a little girl."

David smiled, kissing the top of her head. "Always my little girl."

"Keep your phone on you, sweetheart," Snow said. "We'll pick you up when it's over."

"Alright. You're not chaperoning, right?"

"I wasn't asked to. Why?"

"Just making sure you're not going to embarrass me like Dad is right now."

Snow chuckled. "Never. Go, have fun."

The two parents stood in the doorway as they watched Emma take the steps downstairs. Snow let out a content sigh, leaning into David.

"It's not her first ball, but it's still just as sweet," she whispered.

"Yeah." David fumbled in his pocket. "I think I forgot something at the station."

"David," Snow gave him a pointed look. "You are not following our daughter."

"But…"

"She's a big girl. She'll be fine by herself."

David sighed, before taking one last glance out the window. Emma was heading down the block in the direction of Granny's, a huge smile on her face. She was happy, that was what mattered. "Alright, alright."

"Now, come on. It's been a long time since we had a night to ourselves," Snow whispered. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

He smirked, taking hold of her hand and leading her towards the bed. Just before he could kiss her, her phone rang, causing him to groan.

"Don't answer it."

"I have to, it's the principal." Snow slid the green button over and held the phone to her ear. "Hello…oh…oh no." She frowned. "Yes, I'll be there." She hung up and gave her husband a sympathetic smile. "Rain check?"

"What happened? Is Emma okay?"

"She's fine, that was just Mr. Brighton. Apparently it's flu season, a bunch of the chaperones called out sick. They need me down there."

"You don't even teach at the high school."

"No, but I am a teacher there period." She pecked his lips. "Next weekend we can ask Mal to host a sleepover for the girls, she owes us one after we took Lily so she and Regina could have that date night."

"Sounds good to me."

Snow leaned against the wall, watching the last of the kids straggle in. For what it was worth, the formal was a pretty nice affair. The gym had been covered in decorations and the DJ was playing great music. Most of the girls were on the floor in groups, while the guys took over the snack table. At first, she thought that Emma and her friends were late until she caught sight of Lily and her date together. Another look around and she found Gareth…standing with another girl. A final scan around the room proved that Emma was nowhere to be found.

What the hell happened? She checked her phone to see if she had any missed calls or texts from her daughter, but there were no notifications. Had Gareth stood Emma up to take someone else to the dance? She felt every muscle in her body tighten as she stormed over to him.

"Gareth."

He looked up, flashing her a smile. "Hey, Mrs. C. I didn't know you'd be here."

"Where is my daughter?"

"Oh…"

"Listen, I know I may not appear as threatening as my husband, but I was once a bandit." She folded her arms over her chest. "Emma is a sweet girl, she deserves more than to be stood up."

"I didn't stand her up."

"Right, then where is she?"

"The movies."

Snow frowned, her muscles loosening a bit. "Why would she be at the movies?"

"She didn't want to go to the dance, she paid me ten bucks to make it seem like we were going together."

"Why wouldn't she just tell us that she didn't want to go?"

Gareth shrugged. "She didn't give me the details, I just got my money. Can I go now?"

"Yeah, yeah…just…yeah."

Snow watched him walk away before retrieving her phone yet again and dialing her husband's number.

"David…I need you to head to the movies."

Emma sat with her legs folded under her, watching the movie fold out on screen. It had to be one of the most emotional films ever and it hadn't even advertised itself as such! Andy was going off to college and leaving all his toys behind, well except Woody. How was that fair to the rest of them?

The theater was mostly empty, so she found it odd when she could hear the door to it open and shut, but didn't bother to look up. She heard some footsteps and then someone settle into the seat beside her.

"Coke?" A familiar voice offered.

Emma looked up and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw her father there, extending the drink to her. She bit down on her lip and slowly accepted it.

"Dad," she whispered.

"We'll talk about it later."

He passed her some candy and popcorn, which surprised her. She had assumed if she got caught, she'd be in so much trouble. Instead, he simply sat there with her watching the movie. They laughed at the funny parts, cried at the emotional ones. By the time it was over, Emma had nearly forgotten that she wasn't supposed to be there.

The other patrons left as soon as the credits began to roll, Emma and David stayed behind, polishing off their snacks.

"So…how was the dance?" David asked.

Emma slurped her empty cup, hoping for a distraction. "It was…fun."

"Emma."

She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I didn't go."

"We know. Your mom got called in last minute to chaperone and was pretty worried when you never showed. She was especially upset when she saw Gareth with another girl."

Emma winced. "Did she totally embarrass me?"

"If she did, you deserve it for worrying her."

"I didn't mean to, you guys were never supposed to know."

"Most kids would probably lie to go to a party or do something bad, you went and saw a Pixar film."

"Well…"

"Em, what's going on? This isn't like you."

Emma sighed, rubbing her greasy palms onto her dress. She was completely ruining it, but didn't care anymore.

"I didn't want to go to the dance," she mumbled.

"So, why say you were going?"

Emma shrugged. "It was important to Mom. She went on and on about how big a deal balls were where you came from and how she couldn't wait to help me get ready for one. I just wanted to make her happy."

"Oh, Em." David wrapped an arm around her. "Your mom wants you to be happy, that's it. If you had told her you didn't want to go, she wouldn't have been mad at you."

"Really?"

"Really. We love you, just the way you are. You don't have to lie to us, we won't be disappointed over stuff like this."

Emma bit down on her lip. "Am I in trouble?"

David paused. "Well…you lied…but you went to see a kid movie. There's not exactly a chapter about this in the parenting manuals."

Emma snorted. "Dad."

"How about this, you're grounded to us for the next couple of days. Meaning, we're going to be spending some time as a family."

"Doesn't sound much like a punishment."

"Because it's not, I'm the soft one remember."

Emma smiled and gave him a hug, before gathering up their garbage. As they started to walk out of the theater, David got hit with another thought.

"I get why you lied about going to the dance, but why did you make up having a date?"

"I figured it'd get a rise out of you."

David's mouth dropped open. "Emma Ruth!"

She smirked and tossed her cup into the trashcan. "What? It's fun."

"Now I'm rethinking not grounding you…"


End file.
